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Great Plants this Month Winter

Crocus tommasinianus

pic of louise sims
Louise Sims

The big reward for me gardening in January, is not only getting ahead of things while it’s relatively quiet, but also coming across all the tiny signs that spring is just around the corner.

My special plant today may seem an obvious choice, but it never fails to stop me in my tracks with its delicate lilac flowers and their brilliant orange anthers. It never fails to stop the bumble bees either, being a rich source of early pollen. Frail as the flowers may look, it is a resilient little plant and copes well in quite tough surroundings.

We planted ours originally along the side of a path. Their corms have now multiplied, and they have also generously seeded themselves further into the grass: they are the perfect naturalisers and are among the first in the genus to flower.This crocus manages well in dappled shade, but full sun will bring out the best.

Crocus tommasinianus is native to many parts of eastern Europe, but it is equally happy growing in a pot on a balcony, so there is no excuse!

It also holds the RHS’s award of garden merit.

NB Louise has published a beautifully produced book of her plant profiles – A Plant for Each Week of the Year. It costs £9.99 and is for sale in our online shop here.

More NB If you’d like a bit more gardening chitchat from the3growbags, please type your email address here and we’ll send you a new post every Saturday morning

 

By the3growbags

We're three sisters who love gardening, plants and even the science of horticulture but we're not all experts. We'd love everyone even remotely interested in their gardens to be part of our blogsite.

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